The state of women in St. Louis

It is sometimes helpful to assess our circumstances through quantifiable measures. It is possible to determine personal financial efficiency for the month by tracking transfers to savings account(s). In similar terms, employers can look at grade point averages and determine overall competency. While outcomes may not always be clear cut; we somehow still place unwavering trust in numbers. Perhaps, it gives us a point of reference, a place where we could examine gradual changes that are too minute and extensive to notice.

Consider the 3 percent population gap between men and women in the city of St. Louis in the year 2000. Does it matter that this percentage has steadily decreased over the decades? Is there a correlation between this percentage and, say, life expectancy for men and women? While this fact does not appear to be significant in our daily lives, we must not overlook the underlying trends that our environment undergoes, nor can we neglect how statistics often influence decisions at the policy level. Let us explore the state of women in the city of St. Louis while keeping in mind the old saying, “Statistics are like a drunk with a lamppost: used more for support than illumination.”

Some may not be surprised at all by the economic disparities that women face nationally, as well as locally. While it appears that the unemployment rate for women in the labor force in St. Louis City is slightly lower at 6 percent than the overall unemployment rate for both men and women at 6.8 percent, and that women almost equally make up 49.8 percent of the labor force, there are observable gaps between men and women in several fields, some of which appear to coincide with traditional gender roles. According to a 2003 aggregate report by the Equal Employment Occupational Committee, for instance, 80.7 percent of clerical workers in the city of St. Louis are women. Inversely, 9.9 percent and 26.8 percent of women are employed as craft workers and laborers, respectively. Furthermore, women fill only 36.9 percent of officiating and managerial jobs in St. Louis City.

Uneven representation in the labor force is not uncommon. According to a survey done by the St. Louis Business Journal in January 2008, women hold only 9 percent of board positions at 49 public companies based in the St. Louis region. There appears to be a 1 percent increase in women in board positions since January 2005, which addresses the slowly progressing employment trends. Another example of this would be the slight increase in female-owned business firms in the city of St. Louis from 26.10 percent in 1997 to 31.5 percent in 2002.

Male dominated occupation types and the salaries associated with them seemingly correlate with the economic state of women. For example, the median income for men and women working full-time in St. Louis City, extracted from the 2000 Census data, shows that men earn significantly higher ($30,106) than women ($24,987). It seems not all is hopelessly imbalanced, however, because there are fields in which the dichotomy appears to be more or less equal such as in sales, service, technical, and professional occupations. Still, one cannot ignore how the unequal representation of women in the work force requires improvement.

Undeniably, economic discrepancies affect our individual domestic lives. In examining household types, it appears that certain trends are occurring. The number of females without husbands, both with and without children, has decreased from 1990 (33,864) to 2000 (31,359) in St. Louis City. One could look at the numbers and imply that women seem to be marrying more in the last decade; however, the percentages show that females without husbands has actually increased from 20.5 percent to 21.3 percent due to the overall declining population in the city (census population adjustments notwithstanding). This appears to correlate with the decrease in number and percentage of married-couples in the city from 30.7 percent to 26.2 percent in the last decade.
Data can also be cross-referenced with other economic elements such as the poverty level. For example, female householders with children below the poverty level have decreased from 1989-1999 overall (18.2 percent), seemingly due to the decline in the number of families in the city. Most interestingly, though, is that there is a 101.8 percent increase in female householders with children under five from 1989 to 1999.

As a matter of education, it is worth noting, despite its large scope, that the percentage of women enrolled in two- and four-year public and private institutions in the state of Missouri has increased from 1981 to 2005, from 52 percent to 58 percent, respectively. Statistical breakdowns of female sexual orientation remain somewhat murky.

According to a 2005 survey done by The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation (UCLA), the estimated individual count for GLBT persons is 16,868 or 4.84 percent of the total city population. Another study, which asserts that same-sex couples “have fewer economic resources than married couples to provide for their families and lower rates of homeownership,” done by The Williams Institute in January 2008, states that St. Louis City has the highest percentage of same-sex couples in Missouri at 0.88 percent of all households in the city.

While it is apparent that statistical information is far from being irrefutable and complete, it is important to recognize the broad trends they show. Being aware of the numbers, how ever general they may be, helps us evaluate and challenge legislative decisions made on our behalf, especially if those decisions go awry.

You can e-mail O. Ayes at oayes@yahoo.com